Exam #1 Flashcards
Bicameral Congress means…
Two level congress….House of Reps and Senate
What is the Size of Each house of congress
House of Reps: 435 Senate: 100
What is the Apportionment of the Electoral Districts?
Single member districts with 710,000 Represented by 1
Terms of Office
Senate: 6 years
HOR: 2 Years
What are the endogenous institutions of the congress
- Rules of Conduct within congress
- committees created within the congress
- jerrymandering
- Electoral rules
What are the Exogenous institutions of the Congress
- The US Constitution
- Judicial review
Why is he constitution semi-exogenous?
Because it can be amended by the congress if 2/3rds agree and the states ratify it.
What is divided government? When it is most likely to occur/
When the Congress majority and the President are from opposing parties. Most likely to occur at midterm election
What are vanishing marginals and what are some of the causes?
A marginal seat is one that is in danger of being taken from its current occupant. These are disappearing because of ideological polarism happening within the districts and the lack of serious challengers to well established candidates due to the incumbency advantage
Are the political parties becoming more polarized or more overlapping ideologically?
More polarized
Describe the collective dilemmas?
Coordination problem: Everyone benefits from choosing the same course of action but disagree and what course of action is the best.
Free Rider Problem: people benefiting from things they didn’t contribute to (multi-person version of Prisoners dilemma)
Tragedy of the commons: Everyone cares about own self interest and that makes things worse for everyone all around.
list some of the problems with the articles of confederation?
No executive Delegates elected by state legislatures States could recall reps at any time Each state only got one vote 9 of 13 states required to make a law
Collective dilemmas cause by the Articles of Confederation
- Currency
- War Debts
- Public Order (Shays Rebellion)
- External security: Invasion from a foreign power
- Consent based government
What are the powers given to the Legislative branch and Where do they appear?
Located in Article 1 of the Constitution:
- Lay and collect taxes
- Borrow money on the credit of the US
- Regulate commerce with foreign nations
- establish laws of naturalization and bankruptcy
- Coin money
- establish Post offices and roads
- Patents
- define and punish for piracy and felonies
- to declare war
- raise and support armies and navies
- calling forth of the militia
- to make laws
What are some of the restrictions on congress
- Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended
- no bills of attainder
- no ex post facto laws
- No taxes on good exported from any state
- no preferential treatment of any state or port
- no title of nobility